1dirtyz,

Though mine is a mid-engine setup, our cradles look quite similar (though reversed). This is an old photo of mine before paint, plating, and installation.

Andy1

 

Let me edit this completely - saw you had a set of holden/corvette pedestals:
First, the LS2/3/Holden ones you have are different lengths as you have,(and I have a set). The LS1 sets are symetrical. Also, there are several rubber mounts that area available that are much smaller. I have a hot rod set that I can sell for $30 - I'll get pics, but they stand up maybe 2" total.
I'll find the link for the symmetrical pedestals.

Here is the shortest mounts you can get:
http://www.streetrodgarage.com/motor...ushionset.aspx

 

andy , you got me thinking of another cradle design something like yours that supports both the engine and trans together.

and why does it seem like you have two adapter plates between the engine and trans ?


bob, thanks for the info , lots of cool stuff

 

Awesome project dude

Curious to know what are you going to do about the axles since the transaxle is pushed back a few inches now?

 

That's why I mentioned in an earlier post that it allows the engine/trans to stay as one unit mounted to the cradle when removing or installing. I can't tell you how many times I removed and re-installed durring the swap process, but it really worked out great. Not sure how it would work out in your particular case, but you might give it a thought. It does allow you to configure the motor and trans mounts any way that suits you. I used Vette mounts in the front, and Chevy Caprice trans mounts in the rear.

The adapter plate is steel, and the thick aluminum plate is pretty much just a spacer. The LSx flex plate sits about 7/8" from the block. The flex plate is required to accomodate the starter. The bellhousing on that Audi 6 speed is too small to house the flex plate.

Andy1

 

zerosoul , i plan on keeping the trans in its exact same location if i can ( which seems like it so far )

andy , you got me thinking about a V3.0 cradle now , but it has to go through the suspension cross member inorder to tie in with the tranny ( unless i raise the front to back bar - the one that the motor sits on - a few inches ) . either way it has to wait till i get back to the garage again

are using the bnc adapter on your conversion ( since you used the stock flexplate and what i assume would be a adapter/spaced out flywheel)?

 

andy i am doing an ls3 to audi 01e or 0b4 in my s8, and i am interested in that floor jack frame lift thingy in your pic, as i also need to lift engine/trans in and out many times. did you make it or buy it. i looked and can't find anything like it except transmission jacks.
kitcarchassis makes a similar adapter plate to yours for the 01e-016, but the 0b4 (in pic) will need a custom one off plate. thanks, john

 

Thats gonna be nasty

 

got the suspension parts in today , but upon installing them found out i was missing a few important bolts ( alignment excentric and a few others) but no biggie , will order them soon :



here is how the stuff looks on the car ( going to be a roller soon ! ):



i also messed around with the cradle some more , now the "U" part is finally done :



and this is where the original porsche mount will bolt up to the new cradle :



next up will probably be the parallel tubes that the engine will sit on , i have to cut and weld these on next . those should go from the "U" part to the plate i have on the crossmember , i won't make any "pedestals" yet untill i get the headers and trans in.

another option that i'm really contemplating ( well thinking of as a backup plan) if the trans measurements i got were not correct and the trans ended up pushing the engine further towards the back of the car ( from pics i saw the tranny sits on to and past the cross member towards the back of the car- but the measurements i got place it just ahead of the crossmemebr) is a new cradle like andy has.

the parallel tubes under the engine would just extend past the crossmember ( either above it or through it) all the way to where the original trans mount bolts and attatch there . then the tranny can be slid forward a few inches ( can do that cause there is a drive shaft i can shorten infont of the trans) and mount it to the cradle. that way i have a complete suubframe for the engine and trans ,,,, but that's just me thinking way to far ahead

i also did not get the exhaust yet , waiting on the owner to call me to get it

any how , next up on the list :

- use regular bolts for now to finish bolting up the suspension
- slap the wheels on there to make it a roller ! ( end of stage 1 )
- weld up the two bars underneath to finish the cradle
- fab up a bar that holds the mock engine inplace teporarily so i can get rid of the bungee cords
- install the stock exhaust ( if i get it today )

 

Looking good! man that is a ton of work -but I like it!

My next swap is going to be -well different as well.

 

John,

I modified a motorcycle jack and kept the profile very low such that I don't have to raise the car very high to get the assembly to roll under. Actually a transmission jack is a pretty decent place to start as well, as long as you add some outriggers to stabilize it.

Do you have any more photos of your transaxle? What applications used the
0b4?

Andys

 

andy thanks for the info, it seems powerbuilt tools is not offering the jack on the nz website anymore or i guess you made the complete frame on a normal type floor jack.
here are the pics of 0b4 , its special because of the output position of the halfshafts compared to normal transaxles or 01e's which my 6 speed s8 came with from the factory, 0b4 can take at least 450 ft/lbs torque as abt-sportsline regularly tunes 3.0tdi to this level. it is only in the after '08 s5, s4, a5 3.0tdi and a4 3.0tdi, and only 4wd. all are 3.89 final drive. looks like the difficulty of mating to the lsx is, the corner of ls block has to be cut off because starter bolts to 0b4 on its own and ls block is too wide for front diff casing on the 0b4. have a look at the pic of the engine block 0b4 bolts to. last pic i took today of 0b4 in the s5. am still thinking about this. john

 

So whats a burnt up 911 go for?

 

read the thread...he said about 10k

 

Nice progress. Interesting way to incorporate the stock motor mounts.

 

i just had a "DOH!" moment last night ,,,, i just figured out i can't run the cradle like i intended ( to the crossmemebr ); if i do weld it to the plate i made on the crossmember it will be rigid on that end and flexible on the porsche motor mount end !

so there are two options: first, run it from the original mounts to under the engine and stop just before the crossmember ( then maybe attatch it to the block on the bellhousing surface with a plate ).

second option is redo the "u" part where is it soilidly mounted to where the original porsche mounts are ( remove those and replace with a plate ) and then attach the other end to the crossmember plate , and use original F-body motor mounts.

either way is easy , and i might just end up doing them both and choosing later down the road which one to pick


aside form that , i'm done with stage 1 ! the car is a roller now !
i just need to get the correct bolts for the control arms ( just put temporary ones now ) later .

after i put the thing on the ground i couldn't help but check how the crossmember i made would look from behind the car , so i slapped on the bumper ad what do you know ! it doesn't even show when looking at it from about 1 foot above ground! ( you could see it through the exhaust cutout in the bumper)



and incase you are wondering how much space is there to run the stock exhaust , well here it is :



this is how much space i have with the intake on , notice how unlike on 993 models ( the older body style ) i don't have to flip the intake and use the funky looking elbow on the throttle body . but due to how slanted the engine cover is , i can't run a carb style intake and elbow cause it sticks up too high ( unless i use a sheetmetal elbow that is super low- and before you say edelbrock,,,, i checked - the stang has a GMPP carb intake and edelbrock ultra low elbow- sits about 2 inches too high ) :







as you can see , its pretty tight when it comes to belt clearance , but i can't make a %100 judgement untill i have a tranny in there , but worst case scenario is i have to notch the brace and reinforce it ( which i really don't want to do ).





and why is it every time i look at this picture:



, i can't help but see this in my head :






andy , thanks for the pics.... i gives me some ideas for later on

R8dream , how is that tranny shifted? can't find it in the pictures you posted.


so i guess from the looks of it i can't make any real progress in the engine compartment side untill i get a trans in there ( or do some measuring myself on another car ), other than that , i can just build the other cradle and tack weld suff .

so , next up :

- finish the cradle
- build the damn brace i've been talking about forever to hold the engine
- strat looking into the fuel and return lines.
- take the center console out as well as the pedal assembly
- order more stuff

 

here is the shifter

 

This is what I was suggesting, and how I did mine. Mount the cradle to solid points on the chassis, then use Fbody or Vette, or xyz mounts. That way you can mount the engine and trans with any mounting system favorable to your cradle design. The side benefit is that it adds rigidity to the existing chassis.

Andy1

 

Boost logics kit that made the car put down 8xxwhp is over 40K. The guy who has that car posts on here.

 

Awesome project!!!

Here is a noob question for you. I have read thrue it all and just realised that the 911 have the transmission in front of the engine... Could someone bring me up to speed on this? Basically, is the LS1 motor turning the same direction as a porsche motor?

Is it possible to use an Audi S4 transmission? or is it going to be 6sp reverse, 1sp forward.